2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA Ad for 2013 Super Bowl Takes Devilish Twist

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA commercial for the 2013 Super Bowl, with a star-studded cast including supermodel Kate Upton, proves that you don't have to sell your soul to the devil to get your hands on the new four-door coupe.

The punchline of the advertisement is that the Mercedes-Benz CLA will start at under $30,000 when it goes on sale in September.

The commercial taps into the centuries-old Faustian legend, as well as using "Sympathy for the Devil" from the Rolling Stones.

MONTVALE, New Jersey — The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA commercial for the 2013 Super Bowl, with a star-studded cast including supermodel Kate Upton, proves that you don't have to sell your soul to the devil to get your hands on the new four-door coupe.

The punchline of the advertisement is that the Mercedes-Benz CLA will start at under $30,000 when it goes on sale in September. The commercial will debut during the fourth quarter of the game.

The cleverly erudite commercial taps into the centuries-old Faustian legend that dates back to Marlowe's History of Dr. Faustus from around 1589, as well as using "Sympathy for the Devil" from the Rolling Stones.

It begins with a young, unremarkable man (presumably the target audience for the CLA) sitting in a cafe as workers across the street begin to put up a billboard for the new Mercedes-Benz. Actor Willem Dafoe, playing the role of the evil angel Mephistopheles, offers him the car and "everything that goes along with it" in return for his life. The young man mulls this over.

The "everything" includes being able to dance like Usher, attract hordes of women and end up on the covers of GQ, Wired and Vanity Fair. The daydream ends just as the billboard workers are slapping up the $29,900 price tag on the car.

"I think I got this," says the young man to the evil one, who then disappears in a puff of black smoke.

"This September, set your soul free," the announcer intones.

The Mercedes-Benz Super Bowl commercial was previewed in a YouTube teaser video featuring Kate Upton "washing" a car that created an Internet buzz.

Edmunds says: An impressive effort from Mercedes-Benz — a commercial that drives home a powerful point, especially to the target audience.